January 27, 2010

Ethereal Lemon Frosting

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring sugar, zest and lemon juice to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue to boil until it reaches soft ball stage (when a drop of the syrup forms a soft ball when dropped in cool water) while continuing to stir occasionally. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites and salt to soft peaks. Keep the mixer running (you need a stand mixer or a friend to complete this next step) while you strain a continuous stream of the molten syrup into the egg whites. Add the food dye. Beat for about 5 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy, glossy and cool. Frost cooled cake.

My thoughts:

I love this frosting! Citrus is at its peak during the winter and I love taking advantage of that and making some really citrus packed recipes. This frosting is light and fluffy-almost marshmallowy- but has a strong, true lemon flavor. Sort of like a lemon meringue pie in frosting form. It is perfect on lemon cupcakes or even plain vanilla.

13 comments:

This sounds so perfect. For some reason I always think of lemon as a summer thing, but this really is the time of year to get them at their best, isn't it? Thanks for reminding me! Love your blog - thanks for sharing.

I am intrigued by this frosting recipe, but I can't quite figure out what it will taste like. Is it like a 7-minute frosting, kind of marshmallowy, but with a lemon flavor? Does it set up very quickly, or would I have time to pipe it onto the cupcakes?

Wow, I am from the UK and this is the first American frosting I have made. It is amazing. I frosted a coconut and lime cake with it and it really looks great. I am a convert and will use this frosting again and again. Much lighter and nicer than the tradition English Buttercream. Thanks

Wow... I am from the UK and this is the frist time I had made American Frosting. I needed something special and this really hit the spot. It is amazing and I am convert and will be using this and other frosting recipes in the future. Much lighter and nicer than the traditional English Buttercream. I used it on a sponge this morning, but will make some cupcakes for our coffee morning next week - cant wait to hear the comments...